Costa Mesa firm practices for the Big One

Before the “earthquake” hit, Masha Empringham had a couple of questions.

With the staff gathered around a set of couches near the kitchen, she asked: Has anyone ever done a drill like this before?

A couple of hands. Someone said, “At school.”

“Does everybody know where the stairs (are)?” Blank stares around the fifth-floor office.

“I didn’t know yesterday,” Empringham admitted.

Like a lot of Californians, the employees of Flash Point Communications, a Costa Mesa online marketing firm, weren’t very prepared for a real earthquake before Thursday.

Changing that is the point of the Great ShakeOut, an annual preparedness drill sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the University of Southern California and others.

Organizers said more than 9.5 million people in California were scheduled to participate this year. Most of those, more than 7.5 million, were staff and students at K-12 schools or colleges. Close to 600,000 were at businesses such as Flash Point.

The basic message of the ShakeOut is simple: “Drop, cover and hold on.” And Flash Point got the drill. More or less.

When the “quake” struck at the prearranged time of 10:17 a.m., a few people started playing a video on their computers, and a low rumbling sound spread through the office.

The staff -- mostly young people in jeans and T-shirts, befitting a tech firm -- crawled under desks, covering their heads and grabbing a table leg to ride it out. But some hesitated, unsure if it was OK to have two people at one desk.

Naturally, there was some giggling.

“You’re doing it wrong!” a muffled voice said, presumably critiquing the form of an under-desk buddy.

Another voice: “I’m moving back to Michigan!”

At first, Casey Janes, who was manning the company Twitter account for the morning, calmly stood tapping at his computer on the kitchen counter as colleagues dove for cover.

Empringham, the human resources director, shouted for him to get under a desk: “You, too!”

Janes rolled his eyes, but eventually started to walk toward a desk.

“Casey! You’re dead right now!” Empringham told him.

Flash Point does web design, social media and online marketing for automakers including Ford, Fiat and Honda. So the employees decided to use their skills to spread the word about the ShakeOut.

After the shaking sound stopped, everyone waited 60 seconds, then got up and filed out into the hallway to see where the stairs are.

Steve Getman, a partner in Flash Point and the chief technology officer, had suggested taking part in the ShakeOut, which Flash Point had never done before.

Getman has been trained through the Citizen Emergency Response Team program in Irvine, where he lives. CERT trains people to help think ahead about what they’ll do in emergencies so they’ll be able to help themselves and neighbors.

One lesson learned Thursday: Flash Point needs to buy more food and water. As the staff has grown to about 30, what was supposed to be a three-day supply has become maybe one day’s worth.

CEO Scott Empringham said he liked the ShakeOut idea when his social media manager, Kyle Nishi, mentioned it to him. Empringham, who is Masha’s husband, was out of town Thursday but had OK’d the plan.

The company often posts whimsical content online for staffers’ birthdays or such faux holidays as National Pancake Day. So why not for something important?

“Rather than doing just something silly, maybe we ought to do some good in the world and let people know about this,” Scott Empringham said.

Planning ahead is key for an earthquake, but so is knowing what to do if one hits.

Before:

Make an emergency kit that includes food, water, a radio, a first-aid kit and more.

Have a family plan. How will you get in touch? Where will you meet if phone lines and the Internet are down?

During:

“Drop, cover and hold on”: Get on the ground, crawl under a table or desk if possible and hold onto part of it so you’ll stay under it even if the shaking makes furniture move.

If you can’t get under anything, cover your face and neck and crouch in a corner.

Once the shaking stops and it’s safe, go outside. Take the stairs, not the elevator.

If you’re outside when a quake hits, stay away from buildings, poles and wires.

After:

Be prepared for aftershocks.

Look for anyone who’s hurt or trapped.

Check the radio for emergency information.

If your home isn’t safe, text SHELTER and your ZIP code to 43362 to find a nearby public shelter.